Inkjet printers have printheads that operate a plurality of inkjets that eject liquid ink onto an image receiving member. The ink may be stored in reservoirs located within cartridges installed in the printer. Such ink may be aqueous ink or an ink emulsion. Other inkjet printers receive ink in a solid form and then melt the solid ink to generate liquid ink for ejection onto the image receiving member. In these solid ink printers, the solid ink can be provided in the form of pellets, ink sticks, granules, pastilles, or other shapes. The solid ink is typically placed in an ink loader and delivered through a feed chute or channel to a melting device that melts the ink. The melted ink is then collected in a reservoir and supplied to one or more printheads through a conduit or the like. In other inkjet printers, ink can be supplied in a gel form. The gel is also heated to a predetermined temperature to alter the viscosity of the ink so the ink is suitable for ejection by a printhead.
A typical inkjet printer uses one or more printheads. Each printhead typically contains an array of individual nozzles for ejecting drops of ink across an open gap to an image receiving member to form an image. The image receiving member may be a continuous web of recording media, a series of media sheets, or the image receiving member may be a rotating surface, such as a print drum or endless belt. Images printed on a rotating surface are later transferred to recording media by mechanical force in a transfix nip formed by the rotating surface and a transfix roller.
In an inkjet printhead, ink is stored in ink reservoirs that are external to the printheads and in ink reservoirs that are integrated within the printheads. Particles of dust or debris sometimes enter the reservoirs during manufacture of the reservoirs and/or printheads. These particles may be liberated by the flow of liquid ink within a reservoir and become suspended in the liquid ink. If the particles enter the inkjet stack of the printhead, they may clog the flow of ink to one or more inkjets. Consequently, some inkjets can become intermittent, meaning the inkjet may fire sometimes and not at others. Reducing the presence of particles in liquid ink before the ink reaches the inkjet stack of a printhead remains a desirable goal in inkjet printers.